Should You have an Objective and a Summary in your Résumé?

Your résumé can get better with an objective and a summary to lead it. Neither of the two is necessary in a résumé but both provide excellent options you can include to make your résumé more appealing to read.

The Objective

The résumé objective basically tells the recruiter what your career objective is or what you want to achieve. It must be specific enough to give your recruiter an idea where to put or shortlist your résumé. The objective should be supported by the meat in your résumé. That means if your objective says “a management position in accounting,” your résumé should have a current experience in supervisory work in handling a team of accountants and a previous experience in accounting work along with an degree and certification in the field. Otherwise, you will have a gap that wil require some explaining in your covering letter.

The Summary

The résumé summary is just a paragraph following the objective and clearly states what you can do for the company. Armed with a short summary of your professional and personal strengths, training and experience, the summary makes clear that you have what it takes to accomplish your objective for the benefit of the company and why you’re the right one for it. If properly written, the summary is your bridge to get the recruiter read the rest of the résumé. It can force the recruiter to take a quick look at your education and job history and get a more complete grasp of your qualification so you get a call for an interview.